Unmanned aerial vehicle movement via environmental airflow

ABSTRACT

An arena includes a porous surface through which an airflow is output, thereby providing lift for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to push the UAV away from the porous surface. The airflow may also provide thrust to push the UAV in a direction that is parallel to the porous surface. The UAV may include one or more propellers that can provide lift, thrust, or both to the UAV. The airflow may be modified over a duration of time to modify lift or thrust to the UAV. The airflow may be modified based on regions of the arena to modify lift or thrust in different regions of the arena. The arena may include a scoreboard to display a score that may be modified as a result of actions undertaken by the UAV. Two or more UAVs may be used to play a game via the arena.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims the priority benefit of U.S. provisionalapplication No. 62/402,826 filed Sep. 30, 2016 and entitled “UnmannedAerial Vehicle Movement via Environmental Airflow,” which is herebyincorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally concerns unmanned aerial vehicles,airflow manipulation, and computer vision. More particularly, thepresent invention concerns controlling movement of an unmanned aerialvehicle by controlling airflow in an environment capable of generatingairflow, and manipulation of a camera feed from the unmanned aerialvehicle.

2. Description of the Related Art

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), sometimes referred to as “drones,” areaerial vehicles that are either autonomous, remote-controlled by a userwith a control transmitter, or some combination thereof. UAVs cansometimes include cameras that record images or videos of the physicalworld as seen by the field of view of the camera.

Augmented reality refers to a view of a physical, real-world environmentwhose elements are augmented or supplemented by computer-generatedsensory input. For example, augmented reality may include the view ofthe physical environment with text or images adding to or replacingelements of the view of the physical environment. Augmented reality mayalso insert or replace sounds with computer-generated sounds.

Virtual reality refers to technologies that generate, typically viacompute software, a virtual world environment whose elements have littleor no relationship to any physical, real-world environment. A virtualreality experience is typically intended to replace, rather than augmentor supplement, an experience of any physical reality. Virtual realitytypically include entirely computer-generated graphics and sounds.

Display technologies include display screens, such as liquid crystaldisplay (LCD) display screens or organic light emitting diode (OLED)screens. Display technologies also include projectors, such as movieprojectors. Displays can be included in typical monitors or televisions,in handheld devices such as cellular phones or tablet devices, or inhead-mounted displays such as goggles or glasses.

SUMMARY OF THE PRESENTLY CLAIMED INVENTION

A first claimed embodiment of the present invention involves a systemfor movement control. The system includes an air propulsion device thatgenerates an airflow. The system also includes a porous surface, whereinthe airflow generated by the air propulsion device is output through aplurality of pores in the porous surface, wherein the airflow therebyprovides lift to an unmanned vehicle, wherein at least a vectorcomponent of the lift is perpendicular to the porous surface and pushesthe unmanned vehicle away from the porous surface. The system alsoincludes a communication transceiver that receives an airflowmodification signal from a controller device, wherein the air propulsiondevice modifies the airflow in response to receipt of the airflowmodification signal at the communication transceiver.

A second claimed embodiment of the present invention concerns a systemfor movement control. The system includes a body, wherein the body islifted away from a porous surface at least in part by an airflowexpelled through a plurality of pores in the porous surface. The systemalso includes a motor coupled to the body, and a propeller coupled tothe motor, wherein actuation of the motor causes the propeller to spin,thereby generating a thrust, wherein at least a vector component of thethrust is parallel to the porous surface. The system also includes acommunication transceiver that receives an actuation signal from acontroller device, wherein the motor is actuated in response to receiptof the actuation signal.

A third-claimed embodiment of the present invention concerns a methodfor movement control. The method includes transmitting an activationsignal to an arena system, wherein the arena system generates an airflowin response to receipt of the activation signal, the airflow providinglift to an unmanned vehicle. The method also includes receiving a thrustinput via an input interface and transmitting a thrust signal to theunmanned vehicle, wherein the unmanned vehicle actuates a motorizedpropeller in response to receipt of the thrust signal, the motorizedpropeller providing thrust to the unmanned vehicle, wherein at least avector component of the thrust is perpendicular to at least a vectorcomponent of the lift.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates an exploded view of an arena system with multiplefans, two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and two goals.

FIG. 1B illustrates an exploded view of an arena system with a singlefan, two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and two goals.

FIG. 1C illustrates an arena system with two unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs), two goals, a ball, and a scoreboard.

FIG. 1D illustrates the arena system of FIG. 1D with two disc-shapedunmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

FIG. 2 illustrates an arena system with two unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs), two base regions, a flag, and a scoreboard.

FIG. 3 illustrates an arena system with two unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) equipped with laser emitters and light detectors, a ceasefireregion, and a scoreboard.

FIG. 4 illustrates an arena system with multiple regional airfloweffects.

FIG. 5A illustrates a field of view of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)during a game involving a ball.

FIG. 5B illustrates an augmented-reality-based field of view of adisplay in communication with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during agame involving a ball.

FIG. 6A illustrates a field of view of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)during a game involving laser emission.

FIG. 6B illustrates an augmented-reality-based field of view of adisplay in communication with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during agame involving laser emission.

FIG. 7A illustrates a first embodiment of an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV).

FIG. 7B illustrates a second embodiment of an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV).

FIG. 8 illustrates a control transmitter for an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV).

FIG. 9 illustrates a head-mounted display.

FIG. 10A illustrates a side view of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)experiencing lift and thrust.

FIG. 10B illustrates a force diagram of an airflow output by the arena.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing device that may beused to implement an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An arena includes a porous surface through which an airflow is output,thereby providing lift for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to push theUAV away from the porous surface. The airflow may also provide thrust topush the UAV in a direction that is parallel to the porous surface. TheUAV may include one or more propellers that can provide lift, thrust, orboth to the UAV. The airflow may be modified over a duration of time tomodify lift or thrust to the UAV. The airflow may be modified based onregions of the arena to modify lift or thrust in different regions ofthe arena. The arena may include a scoreboard to display a score thatmay be modified as a result of actions undertaken by the UAV. Two ormore UAVs may be used to play a game via the arena.

FIG. 1A illustrates an exploded view of an arena system with multiplefans, two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and two goals.

The arena system of FIG. 1A is illustrated as a raised table, but may belowered to the ground in another embodiment. The arena system includesan airflow generating layer 120 and a surface layer 115.

The arena system of FIG. 1A also includes one or more arena devices 180,which are computing devices 1100. References hereafter to a single arenadevice 180 should be understood to apply to multiple arena devices 180as well. The arena device 180 may aid in controlling operations of thearena hardware via hardware of the arena device 180, software stored inone or more memory units of the arena device 180 and executed via one ormore processors of the arena device 180, or some combination thereof.While the arena device 180 of FIG. 1A is illustrated as connected to thearena of FIG. 1A through a wire, it may alternately be connected to thearena of FIG. 1A wirelessly via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular signals,infrared, or some combination thereof. Likewise, the arena device 180 ofFIG. 1A may communicate with the left unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 110Land the right unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 110R wirelessly viaBluetooth, Wi-Fi, cellular signals, infrared, or some combinationthereof.

The airflow generating layer 120 of FIG. 1A includes multiple fans 125that generate an airflow, where at least a component of the airflow isdirected vertically toward the surface layer 115 as illustrated in FIG.10B. These fans 125 may be controlled by the arena device 180, by acontroller transmitter 800, or some combination thereof.

The airflow generated by the fans 125 at the airflow generating layer120 is then output through pores in a surface 110 of the surface layer115. That is, the surface 110 is a porous surface. The surface 110 isillustrated with visible holes, but in other cases, the surface 110 maybe made at least partially of a naturally porous fabric or othermaterial whose pores are not easily visible.

A left unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 110L and a right unmanned aerialvehicle (UAV) 110R are also illustrated in FIG. 1A. While the UAVs 100are illustrated as traditional UAVs 100 propelled fully by motorizedpropellers, the UAVs need not have any propellers at all. Instead, theUAVs 100 of FIG. 1A may be lifted above the surface 110 via lift 1010provided by the airflow generated by the fans 125 of the airflowgenerating layer 120, much like an air hockey puck as illustratedfurther in FIG. 10A. The UAVs 100 may also include motorized propellersto supplement or replace the lift 1010 supplied by the airflow.Horizontal thrust 1020 may also be provided by the airflow, by themotorized propellers of the UAV 100, or some combination thereof, asillustrated further in FIG. 10A.

The arena system of FIG. 1A also includes a left goal 105L and a rightgoal 105R. These may be used in the process of operating a gameinvolving the left unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 110L and the rightunmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 110R.

FIG. 1B illustrates an exploded view of an arena system with a singlefan, two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and two goals.

The arena system of FIG. 1B is identical to the arena system of FIG. 1Aexcept that the airflow generating layer 120 of FIG. 1B only includes asingle fan 125. The airflow generated by the single fan 125 may bechanneled by additional components of the airflow generating layer 120and/or of the surface layer 115, such as tubes, that allow the airflowgenerated by the single fan 125 to be output relatively evenly out ofeach of the pores of the surface 110.

A large arena system may also include a few fans 125 similar to the onein FIG. 1B, with the airflow generated by each fan 125 channeled to beoutput relatively evenly out of each of the pores of a region of thesurface 110.

FIG. 1C illustrates an arena system with two unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs), two goals, a ball, and a scoreboard.

The arena system of FIG. 1C is similar to the arena systems of FIG. 1Aand FIG. 1B, though all of the parts described in those figures are puttogether rather than illustrated in an exploded view. The arena systemof FIG. 1C also adds a ball 140 and a scoreboard 145. The scoreboard 145is illustrated as displaying a score of three (3) to five (5). Thescoreboard 145 may be used in the playing of a game involving the arenasystem of FIG. 1C, the ball 140, the left unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)110L, the right unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 110R, the left goal 105L,and the right goal 105R.

The game illustrated in FIG. 1C may be a game similar to soccer, hockey,or air hockey. For example, the left unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 110Lmay score a point by pushing the ball 140 into the right goal 105R, andthe right unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 110R may score a point bypushing the ball 140 into the left goal 105L.

Different implementations of such a game may use baskets or hoopsinstead of goals 105, much like basketball, and the UAVs 100 may have amotorized or spring-loaded claw or arm or catapult to help launch theball 140 into such a basket or hoop. Different implementations of such agame may use endzones instead of goals 105, much like American football.Different implementations of such a game may use more than one ball 140.Different implementations of such a game may use pucks rather than balls140. Different implementations of such a game may use more UAVs 100,such as to have two teams of UAVs, with multiple UAVs 100 on each team,to make the game more similar to team sports such as soccer, basketball,lacrosse, American football, rugby, hockey, water polo, bocce ball,curling, or some combination thereof.

Sensors may be placed in the goals 105, along the surface 110, orelsewhere in the arena system to detect when the ball 140 has enteredthe goal. The sensors may notify the scoreboard 145 to increment thescore corresponding to the appropriate UAV 100. The sensors may includepressure sensors, motion sensors, or cameras capable of recognizing theball 140 via image recognition processes involving the arena device 180.The camera of either UAV 100 may also detect a successful goal andnotify the scoreboard 145 of the goal. The sensors may include radarsensors, sonar sensors, lidar sensors, or some combination thereof. Thesensors may include laser rangefinders. The ball 140 may include awireless emitter, and the sensors may thus be receivers able torecognize when the ball is in the goal by the signals received by theball. The ball itself 140 may include any such sensors as well, and maynotify the scoreboard 145 of a successful goal itself. The sensors mayalso be located away from the surface 110, such as overhead or off tothe side, by being mounted on a wall or ceiling or on another UAV 100that serves as a “referee.” The sensors may also include locationsensors, such as GPS receivers, which may be particularly useful if thearena is large, or triangulation-based location sensors that triangulatea location from wireless signals emitted at different known locations.The sensors may include gyroscopes and/or accelerometers onboard each ofthe UAVs 100.

The wireless emitter may be a sound emitter, such as a speaker, that mayemit audible sound at human hearing frequencies or inaudible sound atfrequencies higher or lower than human hearing frequencies. The wirelessemitter may be a different type of wireless emitter, such as aBluetooth, wifi, cellular, light, or radio emitter.

A UAV 100 may “see” the ball 140 even when it is not in the field ofview of the camera of the UAV 100 by using onboard receiverscorresponding to the wireless emitter in the ball 140 to sense emissions230 output by the ball 140 and use those to detect the location of theball 140, for example by gauging when the signal gets stronger as theUAV 100 and/or ball 140 moves.

FIG. 1D illustrates the arena system of FIG. 1D with two disc-shapedunmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). In particular, the left UAV 100L andthe right UAV 100R are both disc-shaped. The motorized propellers ofthese disc-shaped UAVs 100 are primarily for thrust 1020 rather thanlift 1010; they instead rely on the airflow generated by the airflowgenerating layer 120 and output through the pores in the surface 110 forlift 1010. These disc-shaped unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are furtherillustrated in FIG. 7B.

FIG. 2 illustrates an arena system with two unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs), two base regions, a flag, and a scoreboard.

The arena system of FIG. 2 is arranged for a “capture the flag” style ofgame. The arena system of FIG. 2 includes a left base region 210L and aright base region 210R. The arena system of FIG. 2 also includes flag220, which may include a flag emitter 225 that may be any type ofwireless emitter discussed with respect to FIG. 1C. This may be used todetect when the flag 220 is in a particular base region 210, and to senda signal to the scoreboard 145 to increment the score associated withthe appropriate UAV 100.

For example, the left UAV 100L may gain a point by getting the flag 220to the left base region 210L and/or by keeping the flag 220 there for apredetermined period of time. The right UAV 100R may gain a point bygetting the flag 220 to the right base region 210R and/or by keeping theflag 220 there for a predetermined period of time. UAVs 100 could scorepoints by stealing the flag 220 from each other as well.

The UAVs 100 may “see” the flag 220 even when it is not in the field ofview of their camera by using onboard receivers corresponding to thewireless emitter in the flag emitter 225 to sense the emissions 230 anduse those to detect the location of the flag 220, for example by gaugingwhen the signal gets stronger as the UAV 100 and/or flag 220 moves.

The UAVs 100 may move the flag by grabbing it with a motorized orspring-loaded claw, or grab the flag 220 magnetically, or may move theflag 220 by pushing it via the body of the UAV 100 or pulling it via ahook or claw or loop or lasso mounted on the UAV 100.

The base regions 210 may be marked on the surface 110, for example bybeing printed on the surface 110, by being taped onto the surface 110 bya human user, by being projected onto the surface 110 via a projector(not shown), or by being displayed on the surface 110 in an embodimentwherein the surface 110 includes a display system 1170. The base regions210 may also include wireless emitters so that the UAVs 100 know wherethey are even the base regions 210 are not in the field of view of thecamera of the UAV 100.

Sensors on the flag 220, along the surface 110, onboard either UAV 100,or some combination thereof may be used to detect when the flag 220 hasentered or exited a base region 210. The sensors may be any of the typesof sensors discussed in relation to FIG. 1C. Each base region 210 mayhave sensors. The sensors may also be located away from the surface 110,such as overhead or off to the side, by being mounted on a wall orceiling or on another UAV 100 that serves as a “referee.”

FIG. 3 illustrates an arena system with two unmanned aerial vehicles(UAVs) equipped with laser emitters and light detectors, a ceasefireregion, and a scoreboard.

The arena system of FIG. 3 is arranged for a “laser tag” style game. TheUAVs 100 of FIG. 3 include laser emitters and light sensors. The laseremitters are configured to emit a laser 310. The light sensor onboardeach UAV 100 is configured to detect when the UAV 100 is “hit” or“tagged” by a laser 310. When a UAV 100 detects that it is hit, it maysend an update to the scoreboard 145 to detract a point from its ownscore and/or to increase the score of the UAV 100 that hit it. Insituations where multiple UAVs 100 are playing laser tag, the arenadevice 180 may receive signals from all of the UAVs 100 whenever eachUAVs 100 fires a laser 310 and/or is hit by a laser 310, and maydetermine which UAV 100 fires a particular laser 310 that hit aparticular target UAV 100 based on laser firing time and laser hit timeas reported by the UAVs 100, as well by locations and/or directionalheadings as reported the UAVs 100.

The arena system of FIG. 3 includes a ceasefire region 320, whoseboundaries may be identified as described regarding the base regions 210of FIG. 2. A UAV 100 in the ceasefire region 320 may have its laseremitter disabled and/or may have its light sensor disabled.

FIG. 4 illustrates an arena system with multiple regional airfloweffects.

The arena system of FIG. 4 illustrates three (3) regional airfloweffects along 410 different regions of the surface 110. These airfloweffects are identified in FIG. 4 as regional airflow effect 410A,regional airflow effect 410B, and regional airflow effect 410C,respectively. The different regional airflow effects 410 are illustratedas affecting cylindrical volumes of different radii, but they may affectdifferently shaped volumes as well, such as spherical volumes, ovoidvolumes, or some combination of spherical, ovoid, and cylindricalvolumes. The regional airflow effects 410 may include, for example,regions with stronger-than-usual lift, weaker-than-usual lift, no lift,maximum lift, a “wind” that supplies thrust in a particular direction, atornado-style vortex, or some combination thereof.

Regional airflow effects 410 may be controlled by the arena device 180,by the control transmitter 800, or some combination thereof. Theregional airflow effects 410 and may more specifically be produced whenthe airflow generating layer 120 includes multiple fans 125, and inparticular, when different fans 125 are coaxed to produce differentstrengths and/or directions of airflow compared to the remainder of thefans 125 or just to neighboring fans 125. For example, one fan 125 canbe spun faster than its neighboring fans 125, producing increased lift1010 over the region of the surface 110 affected by the faster fan 125compared to the regions of the surface 110 affected by the slowerneighboring fans 125.

Each UAV 100 may be made aware of locations with regional airfloweffects 410 by receiving signals identifying locations of regionalairflow effects 410 from the arena device 180, or by receiving emissions230 from wireless emitters located along the surface 110 that emit atlocations where regional airflow effects 410 are present. Alternately, aprojector may project an image or video on to the surface 110 indicatinga regional airflow effect 410; this may then be recognized by the UAV100 via image recognition.

FIG. 5A illustrates a field of view of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)during a game involving a ball.

The UAV field of view 505 of FIG. 5A illustrates a view from the camera705 of the UAV 100. A ball 140 and a perimeter of the surface 110 isvisible in the UAV field of view 505. The camera 705 may capture the UAVfield of view 505 as an image or video, and may transmit this as acamera feed to the display 900, where the user may view the UAV field ofview 505. The camera feed may be transmitted in real-time or with adelay for processing or otherwise.

The camera feed may be transmitted directly from the UAV 100 to thedisplay 900, or indirectly through the arena device 180 or controltransmitter 800. The camera feed may be modified before it is displayedat the display 900 to portray an augmented reality view as illustratedin FIG. 5B.

The modifications to the camera view may be made by a computing device1100 onboard the UAV 100, by a computing device 1100 onboard the display900, by a computing device 1100 onboard the control transmitter 800, bythe arena device 180, by a separate computing device 1100communicatively coupled to any of these devices, or some combinationthereof. The modifications to the camera view may involve variouscomputer vision techniques implemented via hardware, software, or somecombination thereof. These computer vision techniques may include edgedetection, tracking, pattern recognition, character recognition, 3Dsegmentation, 3D modeling, counting, quantification, machine learning,face detection, logo detection, optical character recognition, barcodescanning, quick response (QR) code scanning, or some combinationthereof.

The camera feed may include data from multiple cameras to provide depthperception and identify distances between the UAV 100 and objects in theUAV field of view 505. The camera feed may include data from a distancemeasurement system, such as a laser rangefinder, a radar device, a sonardevice, or a lidar device, to provide depth perception and identifydistances between the UAV 100 and objects in the UAV field of view 505.Image recognition and tracking may be based on one or more shapes, oneor more colors, one or more brightness levels, one or more contrastlevels, a relative size, an absolute size, one or more facial features,one or more logos, one or more barcodes, one or more QR codes, one ormore reference points, or some combination thereof.

FIG. 5B illustrates an augmented-reality-based field of view of adisplay in communication with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during agame involving a ball.

The display field of view 510 of FIG. 5B illustrates an augmentedreality view from the display 900 to which the camera feed from the UAV100 is transmitted after modification. The display field of view 510 ofFIG. 5B includes labels identifying the ball and a regional airfloweffect 210. The display field of view 510 of FIG. 5B also illustratesthe emissions 230 from the ball 140, indicating that the ball 140includes a wireless emitter detectable by the UAV 100, and making theball 140 more visible to the user of the display 900 even if the ball140 moves out of the UAV field of view 505. The display field of view510 of FIG. 5B also illustrates a score overlay 530 identifying thescore on the scoreboard 145 as well as labels for objects not in the UAVfield of view 505, including the enemy's goal 105, the enemy UAV 100,and the user's goal 105.

FIG. 6A illustrates a field of view of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)during a game involving laser emission.

The UAV field of view 605 of FIG. 6A illustrates a laser 310 that isemitted by a laser emitter of the UAV 100 capturing the UAV field ofview 605. The UAV field of view 605 of FIG. 6A also illustrates a second“enemy” UAV 100 that is “hit” or “tagged” by the laser 310. The UAVfield of view 605 of FIG. 6A also illustrates a perimeter of the surface110 and markings on the surface 110 indicating a ceasefire region 320.

FIG. 6B illustrates an augmented-reality-based field of view of adisplay in communication with an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) during agame involving laser emission.

The display field of view 610 illustrates a modified augmented realityvariant of the UAV field of view 605 of FIG. 6A. The display field ofview 610 includes a score overlay 630. The display field of view 610illustrates an “explosion” effect indicating that the enemy UAV 100 hasbeen “hit” or “tagged” by the laser 310. The display field of view 610illustrates the ceasefire region 320 as a three-dimension volume byextending it upwards from the markings on the surface 100 of the UAVfield of view 605. The display field of view 610 illustrates labelsidentifying the enemy UAV 100, the ceasefire region, and the hit by thelaser 310.

FIG. 7A shows unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 100 according to a firstembodiment. UAV 100 can have one or more motors 750 configured to rotateattached propellers 755 in order to control the position of UAV 100 inthe air. UAV 100 can be configured as a fixed wing vehicle (e.g.,airplane), a rotary vehicle (e.g., a helicopter or multirotor), or ablend of the two. For the purpose of FIG. 7, axes 775 can assist in thedescription of certain features. If UAV 100 is oriented parallel to theground, the Z axis can be the axis perpendicular to the ground, the Xaxis can generally be the axis that passes through the bow and stern ofUAV 100, and the Y axis can be the axis that pass through the port andstarboard sides of UAV 100. Axes 775 are merely provided for convenienceof the description herein.

In some embodiments, UAV 100 has main body 710 with one or more arms740. The proximal end of arm 740 can attach to main body 710 while thedistal end of arm 740 can secure motor 750. Arms 740 can be secured tomain body 710 in an “X” configuration, an “H” configuration, a “T”configuration, a “Y” configuration, or any other configuration asappropriate. The number of motors 750 can vary, for example there can bethree motors 750 (e.g., a “tricopter”), four motors 750 (e.g., a“quadcopter”), eight motors (e.g., an “octocopter”), etc.

In some embodiments, each motor 755 rotates (i.e., the drive shaft ofmotor 755 spins) about parallel axes. For example, the thrust providedby all propellers 755 can be in the Z direction. Alternatively, a motor755 can rotate about an axis that is perpendicular (or any angle that isnot parallel) to the axis of rotation of another motor 755. For example,two motors 755 can be oriented to provide thrust in the Z direction(e.g., to be used in takeoff and landing) while two motors 755 can beoriented to provide thrust in the X direction (e.g., for normal flight).In some embodiments, UAV 100 can dynamically adjust the orientation ofone or more of its motors 750 for vectored thrust.

In some embodiments, the rotation of motors 750 can be configured tocreate or minimize gyroscopic forces. For example, if there are an evennumber of motors 750, then half of the motors can be configured torotate counter-clockwise while the other half can be configured torotate clockwise. Alternating the placement of clockwise andcounter-clockwise motors can increase stability and enable UAV 100 torotate about the z-axis by providing more power to one set of motors 750(e.g., those that rotate clockwise) while providing less power to theremaining motors (e.g., those that rotate counter-clockwise).

Motors 750 can be any combination of electric motors, internalcombustion engines, turbines, rockets, etc. In some embodiments, asingle motor 750 can drive multiple thrust components (e.g., propellers755) on different parts of UAV 100 using chains, cables, gearassemblies, hydraulics, tubing (e.g., to guide an exhaust stream usedfor thrust), etc. to transfer the power.

In some embodiments, motor 750 is a brushless motor and can be connectedto electronic speed controller X45. Electronic speed controller 745 candetermine the orientation of magnets attached to a drive shaft withinmotor 750 and, based on the orientation, power electromagnets withinmotor 750. For example, electronic speed controller 745 can have threewires connected to motor 750, and electronic speed controller 745 canprovide three phases of power to the electromagnets to spin the driveshaft in motor 750. Electronic speed controller 745 can determine theorientation of the drive shaft based on back-end on the wires or bydirectly sensing to position of the drive shaft.

Transceiver 765 can receive control signals from a control unit (e.g., ahandheld control transmitter, a server, etc.). Transceiver 765 canreceive the control signals directly from the control unit or through anetwork (e.g., a satellite, cellular, mesh, etc.). The control signalscan be encrypted. In some embodiments, the control signals includemultiple channels of data (e.g., “pitch,” “yaw,” “roll,” “throttle,” andauxiliary channels). The channels can be encoded usingpulse-width-modulation or can be digital signals. In some embodiments,the control signals are received over TC/IP or similar networking stack.

In some embodiments, transceiver 765 can also transmit data to a controlunit. Transceiver 765 can communicate with the control unit usinglasers, light, ultrasonic, infra-red, Bluetooth, 802.11x, or similarcommunication methods, including a combination of methods. Transceivercan communicate with multiple control units at a time.

Position sensor 735 can include an inertial measurement unit fordetermining the acceleration and/or the angular rate of UAV 100, a GPSreceiver for determining the geolocation and altitude of UAV 100, amagnetometer for determining the surrounding magnetic fields of UAV 100(for informing the heading and orientation of UAV 100), a barometer fordetermining the altitude of UAV 100, etc. Position sensor 735 caninclude a land-speed sensor, an air-speed sensor, a celestial navigationsensor, etc.

UAV 100 can have one or more environmental awareness sensors. Thesesensors can use sonar, LiDAR, stereoscopic imaging, computer vision,etc. to detect obstacles and determine the nearby environment. Forexample, a collision avoidance system can use environmental awarenesssensors to determine how far away an obstacle is and, if necessary,change course.

Position sensor 735 and environmental awareness sensors can all be oneunit or a collection of units. In some embodiments, some features ofposition sensor 735 and/or the environmental awareness sensors areembedded within flight controller 730.

In some embodiments, an environmental awareness system can take inputsfrom position sensors 735, environmental awareness sensors, databases(e.g., a predefined mapping of a region) to determine the location ofUAV 100, obstacles, and pathways. In some embodiments, thisenvironmental awareness system is located entirely on UAV 100,alternatively, some data processing can be performed external to UAV100.

Camera 705 can include an image sensor (e.g., a CCD sensor, a CMOSsensor, etc.), a lens system, a processor, etc. The lens system caninclude multiple movable lenses that can be adjusted to manipulate thefocal length and/or field of view (i.e., zoom) of the lens system. Insome embodiments, camera 705 is part of a camera system which includesmultiple cameras 705. For example, two cameras 705 can be used forstereoscopic imaging (e.g., for first person video, augmented reality,etc.). Another example includes one camera 705 that is optimized fordetecting hue and saturation information and a second camera 705 that isoptimized for detecting intensity information. In some embodiments,camera 705 optimized for low latency is used for control systems while acamera 705 optimized for quality is used for recording a video (e.g., acinematic video). Camera 705 can be a visual light camera, an infraredcamera, a depth camera, etc.

A gimbal and dampeners can help stabilize camera 705 and remove erraticrotations and translations of UAV 100. For example, a three-axis gimbalcan have three stepper motors that are positioned based on a gyroscopereading in order to prevent erratic spinning and/or keep camera 705level with the ground. Alternatively, image stabilization can beperformed digitally using a combination of motion flow vectors fromimage processing and data from inertial sensors such as accelerometersand gyros.

Video processor 725 can process a video signal from camera 705. Forexample video process 725 can enhance the image of the video signal,down-sample or up-sample the resolution of the video signal, add audio(captured by a microphone) to the video signal, overlay information(e.g., flight data from flight controller 730 and/or position sensor),convert the signal between forms or formats, etc.

Video transmitter 720 can receive a video signal from video processor725 and transmit it using an attached antenna. The antenna can be acloverleaf antenna or a linear antenna. In some embodiments, videotransmitter 720 uses a different frequency or band than transceiver 765.In some embodiments, video transmitter 720 and transceiver 765 are partof a single transceiver.

Battery 770 can supply power to the components of UAV 100. A batteryelimination circuit can convert the voltage from battery 770 to adesired voltage (e.g., convert 12v from battery 770 to 5v for flightcontroller 730). A battery elimination circuit can also filter the powerin order to minimize noise in the power lines (e.g., to preventinterference in transceiver 765 and transceiver 720). Electronic speedcontroller 745 can contain a battery elimination circuit. For example,battery 770 can supply 12 volts to electronic speed controller 745 whichcan then provide 5 volts to flight controller 730. In some embodiments,a power distribution board can allow each electronic speed controller(and other devices) to connect directly to the battery.

In some embodiments, battery 770 is a multi-cell (e.g., 2S, 3S, 4S,etc.) lithium polymer battery. Battery 770 can also be a lithium-ion,lead-acid, nickel-cadmium, or alkaline battery. Other battery types andvariants can be used as known in the art. Additional or alternative tobattery 770, other energy sources can be used. For example, UAV 100 canuse solar panels, wireless or inductive power transfer, a tethered powercable (e.g., from a ground station or another UAV 100), etc. In someembodiments, the other energy source can be utilized to charge battery770 while in flight or on the ground.

Battery 770 can be securely mounted to main body 710. Alternatively,battery 770 can have a release mechanism. In some embodiments, battery770 can be automatically replaced. For example, UAV 100 can land on adocking station and the docking station can automatically remove adischarged battery 770 and insert a charged battery 770. In someembodiments, UAV 100 can pass through docking station and replacebattery 770 without stopping.

Battery 770 can include a temperature sensor for overload prevention.For example, when charging, the rate of charge can be thermally limited(the rate will decrease if the temperature exceeds a certain threshold).Similarly, the power delivery at electronic speed controllers 745 can bethermally limited—providing less power when the temperature exceeds acertain threshold. Battery 770 can include a charging and voltageprotection circuit to safely charge battery 770 and prevent its voltagefrom going above or below a certain range.

UAV 100 can include a location transponder. For example, in a racingenvironment, race officials can track UAV 100 using locationtransponder. The actual location (e.g., X, Y, and Z) can be trackedusing triangulation of the transponder. In some embodiments, gates orsensors in a track can determine if the location transponder has passedby or through the sensor or gate.

Flight controller 730 can communicate with electronic speed controller745, battery 770, transceiver 765, video processor 725, position sensor735, and/or any other component of UAV 100. In some embodiments, flightcontroller 730 can receive various inputs (including historical data)and calculate current flight characteristics. Flight characteristics caninclude an actual or predicted position, orientation, velocity, angularmomentum, acceleration, battery capacity, temperature, etc. of UAV 100.Flight controller 730 can then take the control signals from transceiver765 and calculate target flight characteristics. For example, targetflight characteristics might include “rotate x degrees” or “go to thisGPS location”. Flight controller 730 can calculate responsecharacteristics of UAV 100. Response characteristics can include howelectronic speed controller 745, motor 750, propeller 755, etc. respond,or are expected to respond, to control signals from flight controller730. Response characteristics can include an expectation for how UAV 100as a system will respond to control signals from flight controller 730.For example, response characteristics can include a determination thatone motor 750 is slightly weaker than other motors.

After calculating current flight characteristics, target flightcharacteristics, and response characteristics flight controller 730 cancalculate optimized control signals to achieve the target flightcharacteristics. Various control systems can be implemented during thesecalculations. For example a proportional-integral-derivative (PID) canbe used. In some embodiments, an open-loop control system (i.e., onethat ignores current flight characteristics) can be used. In someembodiments, some of the functions of flight controller 730 areperformed by a system external to UAV 100. For example, current flightcharacteristics can be sent to a server that returns the optimizedcontrol signals. Flight controller 730 can send the optimized controlsignals to electronic speed controllers 745 to control UAV 100.

In some embodiments, UAV 100 has various outputs that are not part ofthe flight control system. For example, UAV 100 can have a loudspeakerfor communicating with people or other UAVs 100. Similarly, UAV 100 canhave a flashlight or laser. The laser can be used to “tag” another UAV100.

FIG. 7B shows unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 100 according to a secondembodiment. UAV 100 likewise includes one or more motors 750 configuredto rotate attached propellers 755 in order to control the position ofUAV 100 in the air. The motorized propellers of the UAV 100 of FIG. 7B,however, are oriented more horizontally and are used primarily orexclusively to provide thrust 1020 rather than lift 1010. Lift 1010 isinstead provided by airflow generated by the airflow generating layer120 and output via the pores of the surface 110. The body of the UAV 100of FIG. 7B is more disc-shaped so that a larger percentage of thesurface area of the UAV 100 encounters the airflow, maximizing lift1010. The motorized propellers of the UAV 100 may be reversibly drivenas well for greater movement control.

Though not all of the UAV components illustrated in FIG. 7A areillustrated in FIG. 7B, it should be understood that the UAV 100 of FIG.7B may include any of the components that are illustrated in FIG. 7A ordiscussed elsewhere herein. Some of those may be hidden within thehousing/body of the UAV 100 of FIG. 7B, or some may be placed over thebody/housing in a manner more similar to the UAV 100 of FIG. 7A. Forexample, the UAV 100 of FIG. 7B is illustrated with a top housingprotecting its components—however, the an alternate embodiment (notpictured), the UAV 100 of FIG. 7B may have a complete disc only at itsbottom, and at least some of the components of the UAV 100 of FIG. 7Bmay be more exposed from above and/or from the sides (e.g., in a mannersimilar to FIG. 7A) in order to make the UAV 100 lighter.

While this disc-shaped embodiment of the UAV 100 is only illustrated inFIG. 1D and FIG. 7B, it should be understood that it may be usedanywhere else that the UAV 100 of FIG. 7A is illustrated, such as in thecontext of FIG. 2, FIG. 3, FIG. 4, FIG. 6A, FIG. 6B, and FIG. 10A.

While the disc-shaped embodiment of the UAV 100 is illustrated with four(4) motorized propellers, it may only have one motorized propeller,particularly if the motorized propeller can be reversibly driven. On theother hand, the UAV 100 may have more than four (4) motorized propellersas well, for additional maneuverability. In yet another embodiment (notpictured), the UAV 100 may have no motorized propellers, but may haveboth its lift 1010 and its thrust 1020 provided entirely by the airflowgenerated by the airflow generating layer 120 and output through thepores in the surface 110.

FIG. 8 shows control transmitter 800 according to some embodiments.Control transmitter 800 can send control signals to transceiver 765.Control transmitter can have auxiliary switches 810, joysticks 815 and820, and antenna 805. Joystick 815 can be configured to send elevatorand aileron control signals while joystick 820 can be configured to sendthrottle and rudder control signals (this is termed a mode 2configuration). Alternatively, joystick 815 can be configured to sendthrottle and aileron control signals while joystick 820 can beconfigured to send elevator and rudder control signals (this is termed amode 1 configuration). Auxiliary switches 810 can be configured to setoptions on control transmitter 800 or UAV 100. In some embodiments,control transmitter 800 receives information from a transceiver on UAV100. For example, it can receive some current flight characteristicsfrom UAV 100.

The control transmitter 800 may control the airflow of the arena systemas described herein, in addition to controlling the motorized propellersof the UAV 100. While the control transmitter 800 is illustrated aswireless and separate from the arena system, it should be understoodthat it may be wired to the arena system, such as by appearing ascontrols embedded in the raised arena “table” illustrated in FIGS. 1A,1B, 1C, 2, 3 and 4.

FIG. 9 shows display 900 according to some embodiments. Display 900 caninclude battery 905 or another power source, display screen 910, andreceiver 915. Display 900 can receive a video stream from transmitter720 from UAV 100. Display 900 can be a head-mounted unit as depicted inFIG. 9. Display 900 can be a monitor such that multiple viewers can viewa single screen. In some embodiments, display screen 910 includes twoscreens, one for each eye; these screens can have separate signals forstereoscopic viewing. In some embodiments, receiver 915 is mounted ondisplay 900 (as shown in FIG. 9), alternatively, receiver 915 can be aseparate unit that is connected using a wire to display 900. In someembodiments, display 900 is mounted on control transmitter 800.

FIG. 10A illustrates a side view of an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV)experiencing lift and thrust.

In particular, the UAV 100 is experiencing lift 1010 that isperpendicular to the surface 110 and away from the surface 110. Thisdirection may also be describes as parallel and opposite to thedirection of gravity. The lift 1010 may be provided by the airflowoutput through the pores in the surface 110, or by the motorizedpropellers of the UAV 100 itself, or some combination thereof. While thedirection of lift 1010 is perpendicular to the surface 110 and away fromthe surface 110, this does not mean that the airflow output through thepores of the surface 110 necessarily moves exactly perpendicular to thesurface 110—rather, only a component of the airflow's force need providethe lift 1010 as illustrated in FIG. 10B (e.g., the perpendicularcomponent 1060 of FIG. 10B). Similarly, this does not mean that anyforce supplied by the motorized propellers of the UAV 100 is necessarilyexactly perpendicular to the surface 110—rather, only a component of theforce supplied by the motorized propellers need provide the lift 1010 asillustrated in FIG. 10B (e.g., the perpendicular component 1060 of FIG.10B).

The UAV 100 is also experiencing thrust 1020 in a direction that isparallel to the surface 110. This direction may also be describes asperpendicular to the direction of gravity. The thrust 1020 may beprovided by the airflow output through the pores in the surface 110, orby the motorized propellers of the UAV 100 itself, or some combinationthereof. While the direction of thrust 1020 is parallel to the surface110, this does not mean that the airflow output through the pores of thesurface 110 necessarily moves exactly parallel to the surface110—rather, only a component of the airflow's force need provide thethrust 1020 as illustrated in FIG. 10B (e.g., the parallel component1070 of FIG. 10B). Similarly, this does not mean that any force suppliedby the motorized propellers of the UAV 100 is necessarily exactlyparallel to the surface 110—rather, only a component of the forcesupplied by the motorized propellers need provide the thrust 1020 asillustrated in FIG. 10B (e.g., the parallel component 1070 of FIG. 10B).

FIG. 10B illustrates a force diagram of an airflow output by the arena.

The airflow force 1040 is illustrated at an acute angle from the surface110. The force diagram of FIG. 10B illustrates that the airflow force1040 includes two components, namely a “perpendicular” or “vertical”component 1060 and a “parallel” or “horizontal” component 1070.

The “perpendicular” or “vertical” component 1060 is perpendicular to thesurface 110 and typically along the same vector direction as thegravitational force. The perpendicular component 1060 may provide lift1010 to the UAV 100 as illustrated in FIG. 10A.

The “parallel” or “horizontal” component 1070 is parallel to the surface110 and typically along the vector direction that is perpendicular tothe gravitational force. The parallel component 1070 may provide thrust1020 to the UAV 100 as illustrated in FIG. 10A.

The airflow force 1040 may be at an angle as illustrated in FIG. 10B fora number of reasons. In some embodiments of the arena, the fan(s) 125may themselves be capable of being tilted, and such tilting may beactuated by a motor over a duration of time, for example in response toa signal from the control transmitter 800. The arena may also channelthe airflow from fan(s) 125 in ways that causes the airflow to be outputat an angle, such as via angled tubes. In situations with multiple fans12 as in FIG. 1A, the combined airflow of multiple fans 125 may beoutput at an angle due to disparity between magnitude of airflow forceoutput by different fans in a region, for example by supplying morepower to a first fan 125 than to a second fan 125 right next to thefirst.

While airflow force 1040 is illustrated at an acute angle from thesurface 110, though it should be understood that any angle is possible,including a right angle or an obtuse angle.

While the force 1040 is labeled as an “airflow” force, it should beunderstood that this also applies to any force generated by themotorized propellers of the UAV 100. That is, a force generated by themotorized propellers of the UAV 100 may also be broken down intocomponent forces whose vector directions are the same as theperpendicular component 1060 and the parallel component 1070 of FIG.10B.

FIG. 11 illustrates an exemplary computing system 1100 that may be usedto implement an embodiment of the present invention. For example, any ofthe computer systems or computerized devices herein, such as the UAV100, the control transmitter 800, the display 900, or the arena device180 may, in at least some cases, include at least one computing system1100. The computing system 1100 of FIG. 11 includes one or moreprocessors 1110 and memory 1110. Main memory 1110 stores, in part,instructions and data for execution by processor 1110. Main memory 1110can store the executable code when in operation. The system 1100 of FIG.11 further includes a mass storage device 1130, portable storage mediumdrive(s) 1140, output devices 1150, user input devices 1160, a graphicsdisplay 1170, and peripheral devices 1180.

The components shown in FIG. 11 are depicted as being connected via asingle bus 1190. However, the components may be connected through one ormore data transport means. For example, processor unit 1110 and mainmemory 1110 may be connected via a local microprocessor bus, and themass storage device 1130, peripheral device(s) 1180, portable storagedevice 1140, and display system 1170 may be connected via one or moreinput/output (I/O) buses.

Mass storage device 1130, which may be implemented with a magnetic diskdrive or an optical disk drive, is a non-volatile storage device forstoring data and instructions for use by processor unit 1110. Massstorage device 1130 can store the system software for implementingembodiments of the present invention for purposes of loading thatsoftware into main memory 1110.

Portable storage device 1140 operates in conjunction with a portablenon-volatile storage medium, such as a floppy disk, compact disk orDigital video disc, to input and output data and code to and from thecomputer system 1100 of FIG. 11. The system software for implementingembodiments of the present invention may be stored on such a portablemedium and input to the computer system 1100 via the portable storagedevice 1140.

Input devices 1160 provide a portion of a user interface. Input devices1160 may include an alpha-numeric keypad, such as a keyboard, forinputting alpha-numeric and other information, or a pointing device,such as a mouse, a trackball, stylus, or cursor direction keys.Additionally, the system 1100 as shown in FIG. 11 includes outputdevices 1150. Examples of suitable output devices include speakers,printers, network interfaces, and monitors.

Display system 1170 may include a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasmadisplay, an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display, an electronicink display, a projector-based display, a holographic display, oranother suitable display device. Display system 1170 receives textualand graphical information, and processes the information for output tothe display device. The display system 1170 may include multiple-touchtouchscreen input capabilities, such as capacitive touch detection,resistive touch detection, surface acoustic wave touch detection, orinfrared touch detection. Such touchscreen input capabilities may or maynot allow for variable pressure or force detection.

Peripherals 1180 may include any type of computer support device to addadditional functionality to the computer system. For example, peripheraldevice(s) 1180 may include a modem or a router.

The components contained in the computer system 1100 of FIG. 11 arethose typically found in computer systems that may be suitable for usewith embodiments of the present invention and are intended to representa broad category of such computer components that are well known in theart. Thus, the computer system 1100 of FIG. 11 can be a personalcomputer, a hand held computing device, a telephone (“smart” orotherwise), a mobile computing device, a workstation, a server (on aserver rack or otherwise), a minicomputer, a mainframe computer, atablet computing device, a wearable device (such as a watch, a ring, apair of glasses, or another type of jewelry/clothing/accessory), a videogame console (portable or otherwise), an e-book reader, a media playerdevice (portable or otherwise), a vehicle-based computer, somecombination thereof, or any other computing device. The computer system1100 may in some cases be a virtual computer system executed by anothercomputer system. The computer can also include different busconfigurations, networked platforms, multi-processor platforms, etc.Various operating systems can be used including Unix, Linux, Windows,Macintosh OS, Palm OS, Android, iOS, and other suitable operatingsystems.

In some cases, the computer system 1100 may be part of a multi-computersystem that uses multiple computer systems 1100, each for one or morespecific tasks or purposes. For example, the multi-computer system mayinclude multiple computer systems 1100 communicatively coupled togethervia at least one of a personal area network (PAN), a local area network(LAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a municipal area network(MAN), a wide area network (WAN), or some combination thereof. Themulti-computer system may further include multiple computer systems 1100from different networks communicatively coupled together via theInternet (also known as a “distributed” system).

The foregoing detailed description of the technology has been presentedfor purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the technology to the precise form disclosed.Many modifications and variations are possible in light of the aboveteaching. The described embodiments were chosen in order to best explainthe principles of the technology, its practical application, and toenable others skilled in the art to utilize the technology in variousembodiments and with various modifications as are suited to theparticular use contemplated. It is intended that the scope of thetechnology be defined by the claim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for movement control, the systemcomprising: an air propulsion device that generates an airflow; a poroussurface, wherein the airflow generated by the air propulsion device isoutput through a plurality of pores in the porous surface, wherein theairflow thereby provides lift to an unmanned vehicle, wherein at least avector component of the lift is perpendicular to the porous surface andpushes the unmanned vehicle away from the porous surface; and acommunication transceiver that receives an airflow modification signalfrom a controller device, wherein the air propulsion device modifies theairflow in response to receipt of the airflow modification signal at thecommunication transceiver.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the airpropulsion device modifies the airflow to strengthen the lift inresponse to receipt of the airflow modification signal at thecommunication transceiver.
 3. The system of claim 1, wherein the airpropulsion device modifies the airflow to weaken the lift in response toreceipt of the airflow modification signal at the communicationtransceiver.
 4. The system of claim 1, wherein the air propulsion devicemodifies the airflow to provide a thrust to the unmanned vehicle inresponse to receipt of the airflow modification signal at thecommunication transceiver, wherein at least a vector component of thethrust pushes the unmanned vehicle in a direction that is parallel tothe porous surface.
 5. The system of claim 1, further comprising ascoreboard to display a score, wherein the scoreboard increments thescore in response to receipt of a score signal at the communicationtransceiver.
 6. The system of claim 5, further comprising a sensoridentifying when an object has entered a region along the poroussurface, wherein the score signal is received from the sensor.
 7. Thesystem of claim 5, wherein the score signal is received from theunmanned vehicle.
 8. The system of claim 1, further comprising thecontroller device, wherein the controller device includes a joystick,wherein a movement of the joystick triggers receipt of the airflowmodification signal at the communication transceiver.
 9. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the air propulsion device includes a fan, whereinrotation of the fan generates the airflow.
 10. The system of claim 1,wherein the air propulsion device includes a plurality of fans, whereinrotation of the plurality of fans generates the airflow, and wherein theair propulsion device modifies the airflow in response to receipt of theairflow modification signal by modifying motion of a subset of theplurality of fans.
 11. A system for movement control, the systemcomprising: a body, wherein the body is lifted away from a poroussurface at least in part by an airflow expelled through a plurality ofpores in the porous surface; a motor coupled to the body; a propellercoupled to the motor, wherein actuation of the motor causes thepropeller to spin, thereby generating a thrust, wherein at least avector component of the thrust is parallel to the porous surface; and acommunication transceiver that receives an actuation signal from acontroller device, wherein the motor is actuated in response to receiptof the actuation signal.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein theactuation signal is a wireless signal.
 13. The system of claim 11,further comprising a set of one or more secondary propellers, whereineach of the set of one or more secondary propellers is coupled to one ofa set of one or more secondary motors, the set of one or more secondarymotors coupled to the body.
 14. The system of claim 11, furthercomprising a claw, the claw to grasp upon receipt of a claw signal viathe communication transceiver.
 15. The system of claim 11, furthercomprising a laser emitter, the laser emitter to emit a laser uponreceipt of a laser signal via the communication transceiver.
 16. Thesystem of claim 11, further comprising a light sensor, the light sensorto detect a laser, wherein the communication transceiver transmits ascore signal in response to detection of the laser.
 17. A method formovement control, the method comprising: transmitting an activationsignal to an arena system, wherein the arena system generates an airflowin response to receipt of the activation signal, the airflow providinglift to an unmanned vehicle; receiving a thrust input via an inputinterface; and transmitting a thrust signal to the unmanned vehicle,wherein the unmanned vehicle actuates a motorized propeller in responseto receipt of the thrust signal, the motorized propeller providingthrust to the unmanned vehicle, wherein at least a vector component ofthe thrust is perpendicular to at least a vector component of the lift.18. The method of claim 17, wherein the input interface includes ajoystick.
 19. The method of claim 17, further comprising: receiving aclaw input via the input interface; and transmitting a claw signal tothe unmanned vehicle, wherein the unmanned vehicle actuates a motorizedclaw in response to receipt of the claw signal, thereby causing movementof at least a portion of the motorized claw.
 20. The method of claim 17,further comprising: receiving a laser input via the input interface; andtransmitting a laser signal to the unmanned vehicle, wherein theunmanned vehicle emits a laser via a laser emitter in response toreceipt of the laser signal.